A clinical trial led from Lleida uses oral iron molecules in large people with heart failure
The PREFER trial has been recognised as innovative for using oral iron molecules and targeting a particularly vulnerable population: large people with advanced heart disease, usually excluded from other trials
A clinical trial led from Lleida and funded by the Marató de 33Cat has used oral iron molecules in elderly people with advanced heart disease, particularly vulnerable people who are excluded from clinical trials. The research was recognised as innovative at the conclusion of the European Heart Failure Congress, organised by the European Society of Cardiology in the 'Heart Failure 2025 Highlights' section.
The research was carried out by researchers from the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital (HUAV) and the Nutrition, Metabolism and Microbiota in Patients with Heart Failure (NUTRIMMIC) group of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRBLleida), led by José Luis Morales-Rull and Cristina Solé, specialists from the Internal Medicine Department and the Heart Failure Unit.
This is the PREFER clinical trial that began in 2017 and ended in 2023. In addition to the HUAV, the Hospital de Manises also participated. In total, 72 people participated in the trial. The study assessed the effects of new iron formulations on clinical improvement in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a condition that is present in approximately 50% of patients with heart failure and for which there is still little scientific evidence. To do so, the research team has been supported by the Marató de 3Cat.
The researcher José Luis Morales-Rull at the European Heart Failure Congress
